HC: Amend laws to fix life term duration
Chandigarh, August 31
In a historic judgment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that indefinite life imprisonment to a convict is worse than the death sentence. The life sentence should not be interpreted to mean lifelong incarceration, it added.

Cong leaders go into a huddle
Chandigarh, August 31
Renewing efforts to dislodge Capt Amarinder Singh from the post of Pradesh Congress president, a group of Congress leaders today met at the UT Guest House and constituted a three-member committee to mobilise senior leaders, including party MPs, to seek his ouster.
The committee, comprising former ministers Avtar Singh Brar and Darshan
Brar and sitting legislator Randeep Singh Nabha (all of them were
present at the meeting), has been asked to recommend a name for the
party post within a week.

Workshop on Agrarian Distress and Rural
Suicides
Corporate sector calling the shots on policy: Dr Gill
Patiala, August 31
Dr Sucha Singh Gill, Director General of the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development Chandigarh lambasted political leaders of the country for framing anti-farmer policies. He said politicians were being heavily lobbied by corporate houses to do so.

Professor GK Chadha, former member of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, speaking at the workshop, held at Punjabi University. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar

Sehajdhari issue: Patits can’t claim voting rights, SC told
New Delhi, August 31
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has contended in the Supreme Court that members of the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation (SSF), including its president Paramjit Singh Ranu, were ‘patits’ and as such could not claim the right to vote in the SGPC elections. The committee’s contention comes in the wake of SSF questioning the SGPC board’s power to challenge the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict restoring the voting rights of the Sehajdharis.

Race to become Patiala’s next Mayor begins
Patiala, August 31
Hopefuls have begun intense lobbying to secure candidature in the Akali Dal as the final date for the election of the Mayor of Patiala has been announced.
As many as five senior municipal councillors are making desperate efforts to win the September 11
elections.

Fearing stigma, villagers live in
denial
Jajjal (Bathinda) August 31
Residents of this village, the worst-hit by cancer in the Malwa belt, are living in denial. They refuse to accept that the deadly disease has struck root in their area.
When a high-powered team of parliamentarians visited the village to take stock of the situation, most residents tried to play down the issue, maintaining that cancer cases had been reported from all over the world. The villagers are hostile towards mediapersons who approach them on the issue. A chemist lost his temper at the mention of the disease.

Blood bank remains closed for over a year
Mandi Gobindgarh, August 31
Over 50,000 workers employed at more than 650 furnaces here have to go to other districts in an
emergency as the local blood bank has been closed for a year. The health department's apathy has come to the fore as it has not got the bank running for so long.

Congress workers pay tributes to former CM Beant Singh on his death anniversary in
Jalandhar. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh

DGSE taken aback to find govt schools sans teachers
Amritsar, August 31
Director General School Education KS Pannu along with nine inspection teams comprising four members each today carried out surprise checks in 97 government schools of Tarn Taran district and was astonished to find a number of schools without teachers.

Commissioner sent in police remand
Pathankot, August 31
Caught allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh from a builder, Commissioner of Pathankot Municipal Corporation, JP Singh was sent on a police remand for one day.
The former Sub Divisional Magistrate of Dhar was arrested by Vigilance sleuths at his native village Chak Madho Singh, near Pathankot on Thursday.

NFL set to reduce coal consumption by 42%
Bathinda, August 31
National Fertilisers Limited (NFL), Bathinda, is all set to reduce its per day coal consumption by introducing the ammonia feedstock changeover project at the cost of Rs 1,295 crore.

No to ‘goonda tax’ costs youth his life
Moga, August 31
A youth was allegedly murdered at Badhni Kalan township in the district yesterday for refusing to pay ‘goonda tax’ to a gang of “contract killers”. The deceased, Rajinder Kumar who used to prepare dentures, was done to death with baseball bats while he along with his brother Parminder Kumar was going to a hotel for dinner.

Man shot at inside Sahnewal police stationLudhiana, August 31
A tipsy man arrested on the charge of tearing pages of a holy book at a religious place in Sahnewal was shot at by a 28-year-old man at the Sahnewal police station here this afternoon.

Police has no right to interfere in anyone's personal life. It had a role to play if there was any complaint of obscenity. Even the Press was wrong in publishing the girl's photograph.
— Dr SS Johl, former Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala

Instead of focusing on curbing snatchings and other crimes, the police is concentrating on non-issues. Moreover, moral policing, if required, is the job of family elders and not the police.
— Manjit Sodhia, former principal of Government College for Women, Ludhiana

I find the entire episode tragic-comic. To me, it seems like a heartbreaking clash of the old and the new generation, with a feudal police seeking to impose a patriarchal social order on the liberal young.
— Rabbi Shergill, a celebrated singer

How the traffic police donned the role of 'moral police' baffles me. Who are they to preach morality when their only job is to maintain law and order? What if tomorrow they start moral policing husband and wife?
— Kewal Dhaliwal, noted theatre person

I found it too shocking to absorb. It's ironic! Half of the time the policemen do not do their job and the other half they are caught moral policing. They misbehaved with the girl to an extent that she ended her life.
— Inderjeet Kaur, president of All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society

Chandigarh, August 31
A day after a Jalandhar girl ended her life after jumping in front of a train, the Punjab Police has come under severe criticism with legal experts insisting that the cops clearly exceeded their
jurisdiction.

They insist placing the services of the woman police inspector under suspension is not enough and the cops should be proceeded against under the provisions of law for pushing the victim to the edge.

They argue that the cops, by ignoring the indications and practically harassing her, made themselves liable to be prosecuted for abetment to suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.

Launching a scathing attack on the police, Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate Ranjan Lakhanpal says there is no provision in law for asking a person to perform sit-ups.

By asking the boy accompanying the victim to do so, the police committed the first illegal action. To make the matters worse, the police called lensmen, which was with a clear intent to victimise the girl, he claims.

Also a human rights activist, he says the cops then left her in a lurch and a situation in which killing herself was to her the only plausible solution.

Another high court advocate Anil Pal Singh Shergill says the Punjab Government’s move to place under suspension the services of the inspector is just not enough. He says more often than not, it is the easiest way out for the government from a tight situation. “Such action is almost always an eye wash,” he says. He adds that the police should immediately register a case against the cops and investigate the matter.

Practising on the criminal side in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Raman Sharma says that the case should be handed over to some independent agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation or the crime branch.

Giving reasons behind his assertion, he says that the local police is involved in the crime and the cops are known to have a soft corner for their own men. He adds otherwise also it is not only important to do justice but it should also appear that justice is being done.

A former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court calls for deterrent punishment for the cops if found guilty. He says the top brass of the Punjab Police should set an example for all times to come by booking them for abetment to suicide.

I have no doubt that indeterminate life imprisonment and non-release of a convict-prisoner is a worse sanction than the death sentence, and an encroachment upon the life and personal liberty... A barbaric crime does not have to be met with a barbaric penalty

— Justice Paramjeet Singh

Chandigarh, August 31
In a historic judgment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that indefinite life imprisonment to a convict is worse than the death sentence. The life sentence should not be interpreted to mean lifelong incarceration, it added.
Justice Paramjeet Singh has also called upon the legislature to carry out necessary amendments in the law so as to make the prisoners aware of the duration of their jail sentence.

The judgment is significant as it marks a departure from the oft-taken stand by
state governments that life sentence means imprisonment till the prisoner’s death.

The judgment, in the cases of two TADA convicts, comes less than two years after a Division Bench directed that militant Jagtar Singh Hawara “shall not be released from the prison for the rest of his life” in former Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassination case.

Pronouncing the sentence, the Bench of Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Arvind Kumar had relied upon the judgment in the case of Swamy Shraddananda, alias Murali Manohar Mishra, versus State of Karnataka.

TADA Cases

The latest judgment came on a bunch of two petitions “Lal Singh versus State of Gujarat” and “Major Singh versus State of Uttar Pradesh”. In the case against Lal Singh, 21 accused were tried jointly by the trial court on the allegations that they, along with 13 absconding accused and some unidentified Sikh militants, hatched a conspiracy in India and abroad for subversive and terrorist activities for facilitating creation of Khalistan and liberation of Jammu & Kashmir by violent means between September 1990 and July 1992.

They brought arms to India and created an organisation in Lahore for achieving liberation of Kashmir and creation of Khalistan. They also conspired with some absconders to conduct terror strikes for eliminating BJP and Hindu leaders, besides police officers.

Justice Paramjeet Singh noticed: “The only allegation is regarding conspiracy etc. and recovery of some arms. There is no allegation against petitioner Lal Singh that he committed any murder or any such act”. Convicted by a court in Ahmedabad under the TADA Act and sentenced to life imprisonment, Lal Singh was transferred to a prison in Punjab. Major Singh was also convicted by a court in Pilibhit under the TADA Act and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. He was also transferred to a prison in Punjab.

In both cases, the Punjab Government’s advisory board had recommended to the states of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh for the premature release of the petitioners. But, the recommendations were not accepted.

Landmark Verdict

Justice Paramjeet Singh ruled that the argument of the counsel for the Government of Gujarat that life imprisonment meant imprisonment for the entire natural life of the prisoner was against the provisions of the Constitution and the International Human Rights Documents and would amount to arbitrary exercise of power.

“I have no doubt that indeterminate life imprisonment and non-release of a convict-prisoner is a worse sanction than the death sentence, and an encroachment upon the life and personal liberty.

“A barbaric crime does not have to be met with a barbaric penalty, which may upset the mental balance of a person who may realise that he will never be out of prison. The reasonable determination period of imprisonment with regard to offences where life imprisonment is provided is a necessity and calls for appropriate amendment for prescribing determinate punishment keeping in view the gravity of the offence. “This Court feels it is the primary obligation of the legislature to carry out necessary amendments ….to make aware the convict/prisoner how much period he has to undergo in prison.

Patiala, August 31
Dr Sucha Singh Gill, Director General of the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development Chandigarh lambasted political leaders of the country for framing anti-farmer policies. He said politicians were being heavily lobbied by corporate houses to do so.

Dr Gill made these remarks at the one-day national level workshop on "Agrarian Distress & Rural Suicides", jointly organised by the Centre for Development Economics and Innovation Studies, Planning Chair, Department of Economics and Centre for South-West Asia Study, Punjabi University, Patiala.

In a sharp attack on politicians, Dr. Gill said, "Our elected representatives are not interested in farming. Over 70 per cent of them have invested in transport and real estate. They are framing policies primarily suited to corporate groups. It will not be wrong to say that corporate sector is calling the shots as far as policy formation is concerned."

Earlier, Professor GK Chadha, President, South Asia University, New Delhi, former member Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council and former Vice Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in his key note address said suicides committed by farmers are a precise and critical manifestation of the rising level of rural distress in the country.

Chadha said the policy makers neglected agricultural and other rural sectors at various levels. "It is a very serious matter that the number of farmer suicides in India is among the highest in the world. In advanced countries when a suicide is reported, it becomes a social issue. This issue can be looked at from different angles though the economic angle is the most serious one",
he added.

Chadha said economic policy is to be blamed for the rising number of suicides among farmers. The practice of acquiring agricultural land in the country is a cruel joke on the Indian society. "Acquiring fertile land from farmers is a matter of serious concern. The Indian policy makers have not prepared the people to move out of agriculture in a systematic manner. The gap between the income of the people in agriculture and non-agriculture has increased too much. The deliberate attempt to promote other sectors has marginalised the agricultural sector," said
Chadha.

New Delhi, August 31
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has contended in the Supreme Court that members of the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation (SSF), including its president Paramjit Singh Ranu, were ‘patits’ and as such could not claim the right to vote in the SGPC elections. The committee’s contention comes in the wake of SSF questioning the SGPC board’s power to challenge the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict restoring the voting rights of the Sehajdharis.

The averments of both the SGPC and the SSF have been made in their respective documents filed in the SC which is hearing the SGPC appeal against the December 20, 2011, High Court verdict. The case was listed for hearing today before a Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and Anil Dave, but could not be taken up because the notice process was incomplete. The SSF “is in fact a body of Patit Sikhs who have been clearly excluded from the purview of the Sikh religion by virtue of definition assigned to ‘patit’ under Section 2(11) of the Sikh Gurdwara Act 1925,” the SGPC contended.

The definition of Sehajdhari Sikh under section 10-A of the 1925 Act “specifically excludes a patit from its ambit” and, therefore, the SSF had no right to seek inclusion in the electoral process as voters.

The SSF had contended that since the SGPC did not have a legally constituted body in existence at present, it had no authority to challenge the HC verdict. Rejecting this, the SGPC pointed out that under Section 51 of the 1925 Act the board once constituted would continue until the constitution of the new board.

Under the 1925 Act, Sikh religious places could be managed only by Sikhs and as such giving Sehajdharis the right to vote in the SGPC elections would be against this legal provision, the SGPC contended. The SGPC rejected the SSF plea that the Sehajdharis only wanted the right to vote and not the right to run gurdwaras . The right to vote “is an inherent part of management and cannot be surgically separated or severed.”

The SGPC also rejected the SSF contention that since the voting rights had been given through a 1944 amendment to the 1925 Act, these could not have been taken away through an official notification by the Centre on October 8, 2003. In fact, the amendment was an “aberration” and was against the core of the 1925 Act, it argued. The SGPC maintained that the fact that the Centre had not challenged the HC verdict did not mean that the government had accepted it. The Centre was yet to file its affidavit in the apex court, it pointed out.

Chandigarh, August 31
Renewing efforts to dislodge Capt Amarinder Singh from the post of Pradesh Congress president, a group of Congress leaders today met at the UT Guest House and constituted a three-member committee to mobilise senior leaders, including party MPs, to seek his ouster.

The committee, comprising former ministers Avtar Singh Brar and Darshan Brar and sitting legislator Randeep Singh Nabha (all of them were present at the meeting), has been asked to recommend a name for the party post within a week. Jagmeet Brar, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Partap Singh Bajwa and Laal Singh are some of the names being mentioned in this regard.

Among those to have attended the luncheon meeting were Rakesh Pande, Navtej Cheema, Jasjit Randhawa, Raman Bhalla, Ishar Singh Meharban, Dr Ramesh Dutt Sharma, Gurbinder Atwal, Mangat Rai Bansal, Ripjit Singh Brar, Surinder Pal Sibia and Sukhpal Khaira. A young MLA at the UT Guest House said: “I am not here to participate in any discussion. I just happened to be around”. Also seen at the venue was RR Bhardwaj, former Chairman of the Punjab Planning Board.

Sources said Capt Amarinder Singh had not lent much support to Avtar Singh Brar during the assembly elections. Nabha and Darshan Singh are known to be close to former Congress Legislature Party Leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. A senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity, said: “The party is in disarray. The workers are disillusioned with the Raja who neither meets them, nor attends any party function.”

Another leader said: “Amarinder Singh organised a dharna at Jalandhar and then went abroad. On his return, he announced rallies in the constituencies of his loyalists and then, as a corrective measure, announced that he would tour all the constituencies. The party workers have had enough”.

A former MLA said Amarinder had not bothered to pursue the cases of party workers hounded by the Akalis. “It seems Amarinder has reached a tacit understanding with the Akalis and refrains from attacking the SAD even on issues like the financial mess in the state”. Amarinder is scheduled to address a press conference here tomorrow.

Patiala, August 31
Hopefuls have begun intense lobbying to secure candidature in the Akali Dal as the final date for the election of the Mayor of Patiala has been announced.
As many as five senior municipal councillors are making desperate efforts to win the September 11
elections.

Prominent among those who are claiming to be the front-runners for the post of Mayor include present incumbent Ajit Pal Singh Kohli; three time councillor Jaspal Pradhan; former Punjab Minister Harmail Tohra's son Harinderpal Singh Tohra; Punjab Cabinet Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia's close confidant Harpal Juneja and Patiala City SAD
president Inder Mohan Singh Bajaj's son Amarinder Bajaj.

Out of 50 elected councillors, 35 are of SAD, BJP seven and Congress have eight
councillors.

Sources said the main contenders were Ajit Pal Singh Kohli and Jaspal Pradhan.
"Recently, Pradhan was with Badal in US for almost ten days. A three-time councillor and an experienced politician, he is a strong contender for the post of mayor", said a senior SAD leader.

Jaspal is also close to Punjab Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats, Surjit Singh Rakhra.

Present incumbent Ajit Pal Singh Kohli was also in the race. The handsome victory of the SAD-BJP alliance in the civic polls capturing 42 wards out of 50 and the proximity of the Kohli family with the Badals will go in Kohli's favour.

"Ajit Pal is a son of former Punjab Minister Surjit Singh Kohli and since he had already worked as Mayor for five years, his candidature is strong," said sources close to Sukhbir.

Though a first-timer, Harinderpal Singh Tohra was another probable to become Patiala's Mayor as he was from the influential Tohra family.

"We are sure that SAD would take into account the sacrifices made by Panth Rattan and former SGPC president late GS Tohra for the party while selecting a candidate," said a close aide of Harinderpal.

Likewise, another first-timer Harpal Juneja, having proximity with the Punjab Revenue Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia was also making concerted efforts to impress upon the party leadership.

Jajjal (Bathinda) August 31
Residents of this village, the worst-hit by cancer in the Malwa belt, are living in denial. They refuse to accept that the deadly disease has struck root in their area.
When a high-powered team of parliamentarians visited the village to take stock of the situation, most residents tried to play down the issue, maintaining that cancer cases had been reported from all over the world. The villagers are hostile towards mediapersons who approach them on the issue. A chemist lost his temper at the mention of the disease.

“Go away. The media and others have brought a bad name to our village,” he reprimanded this reporter. Baba Gian Das, a religious preacher, said the villagers faced difficulty in getting their children married. “Cancer has become a social taboo,” he explained.

Admitting that the problem was grave, he said: “I have recorded 37 deaths.” He showed documents to back the claim. He alleged the government had not taken sufficient measures to combat cancer.

“The RO plant, that was installed in the village only after the residents raised a hue and cry, is not functioning
properly.”

Jarnail Singh, a retired schoolteacher, said the residents had prevented him from taking up the issue of cancer deaths with the visiting MPs. "The village is living in denial. The farmers continue to use pesticides. There is no effort to opt for organic farming. Residents are reluctant to seek medical help and often hide the symptons of the disease,” he said, claiming that 55 residents had died of cancer so far.

Village sarpanch Najjar Singh blamed the media for bringing “disrepute” to the village. District Health Officer RS Randhawa put the number of cancer deaths from the village at 21 deaths. He said seven persons were undergoing treatment. He said uterus and breast cancer was common among women of the area. Men were mostly diagnosed with throat, stomach and prostate cancer.

Mandi Gobindgarh, August 31
Over 50,000 workers employed at more than 650 furnaces here have to go to other districts in an
emergency as the local blood bank has been closed for a year. The health department's apathy has come to the fore as it has not got the bank running for so long.

Workers get injured almost daily and have to rush to Khanna and Fategarh Civil hospital in case they suffer from severe blood loss.

More than 150 voluntary blood donors in the town also have to go elsewhere to donate blood.

The local blood bank used to collect more than 100 units per month as educational institutes in the region organised blood donation camps from time to time.

The government hospital building here was constructed in 1956 and lies in a dilapidated condition. It has leaking roofs and the window panes and doors in the building are broken.

Karamjit Singh Bittu, president Nishkam Kirtan Sewa Society, said he \had raised the issue with authorities a number of times but nothing has
been done to reopen the blood bank.

Senior Medical Officer, Dr Ranjeet Singh said that the licence of the blood bank could not be renewed as the hospital building was in a bad state. They had been raising objections about the hospital not
being able to meet the conditions required to run a bank, he said.

Acting Civil Surgeon, Dr Jaswant Singh said that a comprehensive report about the condition of the building was being prepared and would soon be sent to the health department. He said they hoped to restart the blood bank after the department finishes renovating the hospital building.

Amritsar, August 31
Director General School Education KS Pannu along with nine inspection teams comprising four members each today carried out surprise checks in 97 government schools of Tarn Taran district and was astonished to find a number of schools without teachers.

Pannu said there was no teacher in Government Middle School, Bhaini Massa Singh village; Government High School, Rajoke, and Government High School, Madher Mathera Bhagi village. As a result, hundreds of students were being taught by untrained and semi-literate village girls who had been engaged by the villagers. The infrastructure too was woefully inadequate in these schools.

At the Government High School in the border village of Van Tara Singh, only one teacher was attending to 125 students of five classes from Class VI to X. The classrooms too were dingy.

Pannu said only one or two teachers managing the affairs of high schools where so many classes and subjects were to be taught. During the inspection, 41 teachers were found absent from their duty. Besides, 76 teachers reported late for the duty while 14 were found to be absent for long.

Pathankot, August 31
Caught allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh from a builder, Commissioner of Pathankot Municipal Corporation, JP Singh was sent on a police remand for one day.
The former Sub Divisional Magistrate of Dhar was arrested by Vigilance sleuths at his native village Chak Madho Singh, near Pathankot on Thursday.

Singh, who was taken to Amritsar from Pathankot on Thursday night after he was nabbed by the vigilance sleuths, was brought to Gurdaspur today afternoon. He was produced before Harpreet Kaur, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, who sent him to police remand for a day.

Singh was represented by senior criminal counsels Karanjit Singh and SS Basra.Vigilance sleuths sealed Singh's office at Pathankot and are searching his bank lockers. The officer was yesterday nabbed in the presence of Amritsar SSP Upinderjit Singh Ghuman and DSP Subash Sharma.

Bathinda, August 31
National Fertilisers Limited (NFL), Bathinda, is all set to reduce its per day coal consumption by introducing the ammonia feedstock changeover project at the cost of Rs 1,295 crore.

The project will replace fuel oil with natural gas. The project will be completed in the next five months and will reduce coal consumption from the 2,000 metric tonnes per day to 1200 MT per day.

CRIME

No to ‘goonda tax’ costs youth his life
Kulwinder Sandhu/TNS

Moga, August 31
A youth was allegedly murdered at Badhni Kalan township in the district yesterday for refusing to pay ‘goonda tax’ to a gang of “contract killers”. The deceased, Rajinder Kumar who used to prepare dentures, was done to death with baseball bats while he along with his brother Parminder Kumar was going to a hotel for dinner.

Rajinder was rushed to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital at Faridkot where he succumbed to his injuries.

Badhni Kalan police station SHO Swaran Singh said a case under sections 302, 323, 148 and 149 of the IPC had been registered against Raju, Roor Singh and three of their unidentified accomplices. However, they were yet to be arrested at the time of filing the report.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang was involved in extorting money from vendors. But, its members were also wanted in cases of ‘supari’ (contract) killings, gang wars and shootouts in public places, said Surjit Singh Grewal, Moga SSP.

The gang leader, Mandip Singh (alias Dhruv), along with five of his associates is at present in judicial custody in connection with murder cases and was reportedly operating from jail.

The gang members reportedly are youths in their mid-twenties who first joined hands to settle personal scores but later jumped into contract killings. Five cases of murder were registered against them in Ludhiana, Moga and Barnala districts.

Ludhiana, August 31
A tipsy man arrested on the charge of tearing pages of a holy book at a religious place in Sahnewal was shot at by a 28-year-old man at the Sahnewal police station here this afternoon.

The man, who was identified as Dalip Kumar, was shot twice in the abdomen by Mandeep Singh of Kube village in Samrala with a .32 revolver. Dalip was operated upon at a multi-speciality hospital here. His condition was said to be critical.

The investigating officer said Mandeep tried to flee after the attack but was nabbed by the police. A case was registered against him.

Dalip, who allegedly tore two pages of a holy book at a shrine in Sahnewal last night, was overpowered by sewadars and handed him over to the police.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president, Avtar Singh Makkar, has condemned the incident. He has appealed to the Sikh community to remain calm.

The incident has triggered tension in the area. Angry Sahnewal residents laid a siege to the police station in the evening.

They dispersed after about 30
minutes. They were demanding that Mandeep be released forthwith.